Club-Read: The Baby-Sitters Club #20: Kristy and the Walking Disaster

We were first introduced to Jackie Rodowsky back in book #10 Logan Likes Mary Anne! which I covered all the way back in... August? Of this year? You mean I actually kept to a consistent schedule on this series for ten months and over ten books at this point? I can do that? What we know of Jackie is he's very enthusiastic, but also very accident-prone. The kind of kid you expect to see in a full-body cast at some point in his life. Well, he can't be too bad with a baseball bat, right? It's also been quite a while since we've had a Kristy focused book, and that one was primarily focused on her dog dying. So maybe this time we'll get something a bit more light hearted. I mean we've already had enough injury, death and status quo shifts for a while so we're owed a reprieve. Let's find out about Kristy and the Walking Disaster.

All three covers this time are pretty straightforward. The focus being that Jackie is indeed a walking disaster with how messy he is compared to the rest of the team. So if you need to sell the idea that he's definitely going toe be the biggest problem on Kristy's team than all three do he trick. Of the three, my favorite is the original as I think it's a better structured shot of the team to play up the difference between them and Jackie. The second comes close and is also great, while the graphic novel cover is fine, but a little bland by comparison. It at least sells that Jackie's disastrous ways is getting Kristy's team mocked at least, so it still works. Overall, three solid covers.

We open as Karen and Andrew arrive to the Brewer/McGill residence. Kristy is teaching David Michael how to properly hit a baseball and he succeeds. But this early reference to what this book is about is cut short as it's time for a club meeting, meaning the long preamble that helps shorten an already short book. Mary Anne brought Tigger who gets lost for a bit. Boy, I sure hope that's not a plot for a later book, hint hint. But the more important matter is that Jackie Rodowsky needs to be baby-sat and Kristy takes the job. Jackie is the youngest of three boys, Shea and Archie, but it's Jackie who is the most accident prone. Before that can happen, Kristy has a bunch of the kids, Karen, David Michael, Andrew, Linnie and Hannie Papadakis and Max and Amanda Delaney, the snobby kids from book eleven. They're all interested in playing little league, but they can't get on a team. They meet with a team coach named Bart Taylor for the kids to join his team, Bart's Bashers. However, Kristy becomes instantly enamored with him. While they get along well, he tells her that he can't add a bunch more kids to a new team, so Kristy now has to start her own team, while also dealing with her growing crush on Bart.

Mary Anne babysits for the Perkins kids Gabbie and Myriah which also includes Jamie and Nina Newton. They all play some whiffle ball to which Mary Anne gets the idea that they should play little league as well. Kristy baby-sits for the Rodowskys. The kids have a birthday party for Bo, their dog, to which Jackie accidentally spills a pitcher of pink lemonade. When they play some catch, Jackie throws it into the next door neighbor's gutters, which yeah, that would track. But Kristy still invites him to play on the team. Twenty kids in total form Kristy's team, most being kids she's babysat for, so that helps. Most also aren't great at certain elements, but she wants it to be fun and at least helpful in improving their skills. So they hold a quick game. Though Jackie says that they should come up with a team name since all the major teams have names. He suggests Kristy's Crushers, with Margo Pike suggesting K for Krushers. Karen is against it because she's against poor literacy, but she's easily voted down and I guess it's not a hill even she wants to die on. Harassing an old lady and calling her evil, oh she'll die on that hill. They play with Jackie ending up getting the ball deep into the woods, so the game ends early with the kids grumbling about Jackie. But Kristy remains optimistic at least.

We get a quick chapter as the Pike triplets Adam, Jordan and Byron, who are on a little league team, take on Nicky, Claire, Margo and Matt Braddock of Kristy's Krushers. They show good hustle, but the triplets beat them 13-5. Later, Kristy has the team for more practice. Jackie runs, but trips before making the plate. He's put as catcher, but he gets hit in the face with the ball and loses a tooth on account of him having gum in his mask and not wearing it. My "he's dead before 20" theory's holding water, that's for sure. After the game, Kristy walks Shannon and runs into Bart with his rottweiler Twinkle which, gotta admit, not the name I was expecting. They talk baseball some more with Bart noting his team is more experienced, around seven to nine, while Kristy's team is consisting of a lot of younger kids. But Kristy, likely more out of her infatuation with Bart than her own common sense, still says they should play against Bart's Bashers. So Bart gives them two weeks to get ready. 

Jessi baby-sits the Barretts as the rest of the team show up, complete with their iron-on Kristy's Krushers shirts. With Karen having hers specifically spelled with a C because my god she is a petty, petty child. The kids practice again, with it again ending with Jackie scoring a home run... by smashing the ball into the elementary school window. Still, you know, progress. The next practice goes well, but this time Bart and his team are watching. And his team aren't exactly kind to their competition, outright insulting them over their age, weight, gender (no girls on the Bashers team) and messiness. They also call Matt Braddock a dummy, to which his sister Haley is quick to defend him as usual. Jackie make a run, but crashes into the catcher's cage. So yeah, that was a bit demoralizing for the team, but they don't intend to be as cruel as the Bashers, so to quote The Who, the kids are alright.

Time passes and we get to the day before the big game and the Krushers are vastly improved, save for maybe Jackie, but he's still got that gumption. Watson is pleased at how great a job Kristy has done with the kids, though her mind's still on the big game. She walks with Bart and they're still awkward towards each other and despite his team being brash, he doesn't appear to be so that's a plus. The day of the game arrives, and things go bad from the jump as Nicky Pike is sick and can't pitch. Not only that, they finally get a glimpse of Bart's Bashers and the team feels even more outclassed than they already were. They get outclassed early, but the Krushers are still enjoying themselves. Then Jackie knocks over the refreshment table. He then starts to say he injured his ankle to get out of the game, to which Kristy immediately gets what he's up to. He's worried about screwing up and wants out, but Kristy encourages him to play on. He manages to score an out. In fact, the team manages to tie things 6-6... for a moment then it's 10-6 Bashers. 

But the final score ends up being 16-11 Bashers. So Kristy's team loses, but they put up a good fight in the end, so all the kids are happy enough. Kristy walks home with Bart who says he's proud of the Krushers in how well they did, and that he was a bit nervous that they could have beaten the Bashers. He apologizes for his kids and their shit attitudes to the Krushers, especially with Jackie. The two hit it off much better, and decide to go out to a ball game and become better friends. So the book ends with Kristy on cloud nine over this. She calls Jackie, who in the process, ends up breaking a lamp because, like I said, before twenty tops. 

This is a good book. It's perhaps the shortest mainline book so far, which given the book's plot makes sense. As a Kristy focused book it does enough with her. Mainly focusing on the team and her budding relationship with Bart Taylor. I like how they set up Bart. Never really a rival to Kristy as much as someone who loves the sport of baseball. So it makes their relationship, at least for now, feel nice. Like he's someone that Kristy has common interests in and can bounce off of. Much like Logan and Mary Anne. You'd think going into this book that Jackie would be the main focus, but he really isn't. He's still pivotal to the plot and his accident-prone behavior at least adds for some fun bits. I joke about the kid, but I like that the book makes him this kid with a lot of optimism, and even though he fails and flubs a lot, still puts in his all and actually succeeds for his team. 

This isn't much for a baby-sitting book, there's not too much that isn't tied in one way or another to baseball. The best being the game with the Pike triplets and the Krusher kids. otherwise the rest just melt into practices which makes up most of the book. So if you were a reader hoping for more baby-sitting, look elsewhere. Next book at least seems to be back on track to that at least. I also like that the kids are all optimistic, even in losing. That they're still willing to give it their all. Even Karen, who really just is too much. So the book does a good job with the kids, gives Kristy some development. It even gives Watson a bit to do and his own optimism and excitement towards Kristy's team is fun as well. Watson remains the coolest dude ever. If there is a Watson Brewer fan club call me a member. 

Other than that, there isn't too much more to really say with this one. It's very straightforward in its plot, and is super quick. But it still uses its limited pages to the fullest of its ability, has some fun moments, decent character development for Kristy, and even for Jackie. So it's far from a filler book, even with the addition of Bart and the budding relationship with Kristy. It's not the strongest book overall, but I can let it slide. You don't need the deepest, most character introspective book out there. Sometimes you just need to have a cute, goofy book about baseball and it's all good. And that's the best way to describe this book. All good. Kristy and the Walking Disaster gets an A-. 

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